A Goddess Cube can be found just to the north of the dock at the entrance to the Sand Sea. Climb up the cargo containers and use the Clawshots to grapple onto the target in the far north. Drop down to find a room full of Arachas and a Goddess Cube in the corner. This opens a chest in the Bazaar in Skyloft with a Gold Rupee in it!

Now, head to the dock in the west central region. Here you'll find a boat docked with a Timeshift Stone on it. Activate the stone.

Talk to the revived LD-301N Skipper robot on the dock and he'll offer to take you to the Skipper's Retreat, marked on your map with an X in the far south.

Get on the boat and you'll be able to explore the Sand Sea. Actually,"Explore" isn't exactly the right word, since you cannot do anything but go to the Skipper's Retreat dock and get off the boat.

Note that you can hold A to go faster, and the ship has its own Stamina Meter.

Dock at the Skipper's Retreat and save at the Bird Statue. Make your way around the platforms, simply running past the Electro Spumes or tossing bombs at them.

Use your Clawshots to begin climbing the many platforms. The floating Peahats can be used as grapple points. You can make out a Chest on a platform you pass on the way up, but you cannot get this until you get to the very top of the Retreat.

On one platform you'll find a Bomb Plant on a cactus and a collapsed wall. Use your Beetle to carry the bomb into the wall to create a passage up -- that's filled with Chuchus. Bomb them from a distance!

The Metal Shield Moblin on the bridge cannot be easily attacked from the front. Instead, sprint towards its shield and you can climb up and over it, landing behind it.

Attack the Metal Shield Moblin from the rear to kill it while it's confused. Pick up the Red Rupee from the chest on the next platform and kill the Quadro-Baba.

As you climb the platforms in the Skipper's Retreat, you will come to a Metal Shield Moblin on a bridge. Just past this is a platform that you can stand on to shoot some dry vines on a grassy spire with your Clawshots. From the vines on the wall, activate your Clawshots and you can reach the platform with the Goddess Cube. This opens a chest in the sky on an island to the far west of Skyloft. This island has several chests on it, but this one is behind bars. You need to use the Clawshots on the ceiling of the cell to reach the chest, which holds the Potion Medal. This extends your potion's effects.

Grapple up to the next platform and you'll have to fend off a Furnix. Use the Whip to yank its tail and then kill it with a Fatal Blow. Use the Whip again to yank the Peahat sprout and the Peahat will begin flying towards the next island.

Grab onto the Peahat with the Clawshots and use it to get to the next target. On this platform, before moving to the next target, use your Beetle to cut the Deku Baba down hanging above the target.

Just above this target is a platform with a circle of cacti you can backtrack to once you pass it. Open the Chest amongst the cacti for a Monster Horn.

the next pair of Peahats moves up and down on either side of a rock formation. You must use the Clawshots with timed precision to move from one to the other.

Once you get to the top platform you should explore the apex of the Skipper's Retreat for a pair of Sand Cicadas.

Inside the Skipper's Retreat you'll find a lot of sand. Pull out your Gust Bellows and clear it all out. Under the sand you'll find Arachas, Rupees and Amber Relics.

If you sit on the stool you can recover your life and get a hint about the Sand Cicadas from Fi. Beneath the sand is a Chest with the object of your climb: theAncient Sea Chart!

Instead of taking the zipline down, dive off of the platform using the protruding section on the west side. You will enter a controllable dive -- aim for the small platform with the Chest far below. Inside is a Silver Rupee, sweet!

From here you can easily use the Clawshots to reach the Skipper. The Skipper will update your map and point out a location in the far west. Pilot your ship west to the Shipyard entrance.

The Shipyard mainly consists of a mine cart minigame and a (familiar) boss fight. First, however, you must deal with two Lizalfos (once the shipyard has been completed you can get unlimited lizard tails from the two Lizalfos by going in and out of the Rickety Coaster building). Your new, more powerful sword will cut through them much more quickly. A Shield Bash attack can set the Lizalfo reeling.

The mine cart is controlled by tilting the Wii remote left and right. try holding it with two hands and make sure to watch Link closely as his body will shift visibly with your tilting.

Tilt towards the inside of every turn. This will increase your speed (you can slow down with B), but it will also keep you stuck to the track like glue.

You can choose a path at forks in the road by tilting in the direction you choose. Some paths lead to dead ends or infinite loops. Study the course map if you want to become a pro!

Flick the Wii Remote up when you catch air off a jump to safely land. Try to have a lot of speed going into a jump.

The second mine cart track has a few dead ends and a a jump at the beginning and two at the end. You'll probably need to play this course a few times to get the hang of it, but feel free to check out the video walkthrough to help learn how to move.

Save at the Bird Statue on the other side of the second mine cart track. Beyond it is a massive pit of sand. If you are low on hearts, have a seat on the stools in the save room before proceeding!

Head to the south end of this pit and use the Gust Bellows to clear away the sand. You should expose another Moldarach. This time you have a more powerful sword, so the fight is a bit shorter.

When you arrive at the Pirate Stronghold you'll find little more than a Keese-infested platform. Although if you look up right after getting off the boat, you'll see a pair of holes on the front of the Stronghold. Send your Beetle in to collect three silver rupees. After getting those 300 rupees in your wallet, enter the door on the north side to access the Stronghold interior.

Inside you'll find a pedestal that is meant to hold a Timeshift Orb. This is much like a Timeshift Stone, but you can carry it. Unfortunately, it's nowhere in sight.

Head down the dusty hallway, spraying your Gust Bellows on piles of sand to expose Red Rupees. Two Lizalfos block your path (the Lizalfos will give lizard tails and you can get unlimited lizard tails by repeatedly exiting in and out of the pirate stronghold, but not until after completing the pirate stronghold), and a Spume as well. You can run past the Spume to reach the far side of the sand pit.

Beyond the door is the Timeshift Orb in the northwestern tip of the Pirate Stronghold map. As soon as you begin carrying it, all manner of ancient monsters come to life. In the next room, Tecnoblins will get in your way.

Use Shield Bashes to counter their attacks and then hit them a few times with your powered-up sword. Head further south and Beamos will spring to life. Cut them down to size like you did in Lanayru Mining Facility.

A chest behind a fence can only be opened if you ditch your Timeshift Orb at a safe distance from it. The Timeshift Orb opens the fenced-off doors, but it will raise barriers in front of many others. Inside the Chest is a Silver Rupee.

You can use the ramp in the south end of this room to access a series of platforms that raise as you near them with the Orb. Jump from one to the next to cross to the door in the north.

In the next area, leave the Timeshift Orb by the barred door. Its effects will carry through the door to the far side. Run around here to find a wall switch that will let you retrieve the Orb.

In the next sandy room, leave your Timeshift Orb a bit away from the Chest so it doesn't raise the platform in front of it. Cross the quicksand to reach the Evil Crystal in the Chest.

Now, either avoid or kill the many Deku-Babas in the room. Remember to Shield Bash Babas to make them easier to chop down.

The next large room has several locked doors, an Electro Spume and plenty of Technoblins. Your goal here is to leave the Orb by the open door so you can enter the small chamber and push the crate inside onto a switch. This will close the nearby gate, but open another. You can now run across the sinking sand and enter the door to the south, with Timeshift Orb in hand.

After clearing out the Beamos in the next area, you may notice that the area between the four connected rooms has some bars that will allow the Timeshift Orb's effects to spread through out the central area.

Set the Orb in the middle of the room by the bars and you can then run around to a wall switch in the larger room to the west. A Chest in one of the rooms holds a Monster Horn.

Before you can carry the Timeshift orb through the next set of doors to the south, you'll have to destroy two Armos statues. Equip your Gust Bellows and destroy their crystals one at a time, luring them to the edge of the Timeshift Orb effect area to stay in safety.

The pedestal for the Timeshift Orb is just on the other side. Placing the Orb on the pedestal opens the giant jaws outside. Head out through the new door.

At the Pirate Hideout, after you use the Timeshift Sphere to open the giant mouth on the island, you'll exit the interior via a door in the center of the island. Look above this door for a Clawshots target. Use this and another target to get to the Goddess Cube. This opens a chest on the east side of Skyloft with a Heart Piece inside! Use the Clawshots to climb the vine-covered islands to the source of the waterfall on a floating island above the town lake.

You must return to the Skipper again and then go BACK to the ruins of the ship by the door you just came out of. Here, Fi will contact you and update your Dowsing ability to help find the missing ship. Which is invisible!

Get back on the boat and head for the new mark on your map, a circle of stones in the northeast area of the sea.